Machine for forming cushioning tongues in shock absorbing strips



April 5, 1960 M. VAN ANTWERPEN 2,931,275

MACHINE FOR FORMING CUSHIONING TONGUES IN snocx ABSORBING STRIPS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 25, 1958 INVENTOR 5 MARTIN VAN ANTWERPEN fi/ it fl/fi/ T g 45;;

ATTORNEYS p 1960 M. VAN ANTWERPEN 2,931,275

MACHINE FOR FORMING CUSHIONING TONGUES IN sx-xocx ABSORBING STRIPS Filed March 25, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Z3 MARTIN VAN ANTWERPEN i l J ATTORNEYS I April 5, 1960 M. VAN ANTWERP 3 ,275

MACHINE FOR FORMING CUSHI NG TONGUEIS IN SHOCK ABSORBING STRIPS Filed March 25, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 \NV MARTIN VAN ANTWERPEN BY a" yw jz ATTORNEYS United States Patent MACHINE FOR FORMING CUSHIONING TONGUES IN SHOCK ABSORBING STRIPS Martin Van Antwerpen, Milwaukee, Wis. Application March 25, 1958, Serial No. 723,814

'3 Claims. (Cl. 93-1) This invention relates to machines for fabricating cushioning and shock absorbing strips of the type shown in the Van Antwerpen Patent No. 2,504,473, issued April 18, 1950, and more particularly to a device for forming cushioning supporting tongues in the V- or U-shaped peaks of the cushioning and shock absorbing strips.

The strip fabricated by the machine shown in Patent No. 2,504,473 includes a flat base sheet, an intermediate cushioning sheet and an inner supporting face sheet. The inner face sheet is folded to form a series of outwardly projecting, longitudinally aligned, substantially \ior U-shaped peak portions. These portions are in turn 2,931,275 Patented Apr. 5, 1960 material between the slits irrespective of the layout of the slits in said peak portions.

Another salient object of the invention is the provision of a cylinder extendingtransversely across that portion of the machine shown in the mentioned Van Antwerpen application driven in proper timed relation relative to the travel of the connected sheets over a supporting table, the cylinder carrying peripheral pins arranged in a definite desired pattern for operating desired knock down fingers of a row of fingers extending transversely across the machine, the fingers functioning, when operated to engage provided with longitudinally aligned slots for receiving the peripheral edge of the glass being protected when the strip is placed around the glass. The intermediate cushioning sheet is folded to form a series of longitudinally aligned V- or U-shaped cushioning peaks which lie in the V- or U-shaped peak portions of the face sheets when the sheets are united.' The glass being protected rests on the cushioning peaks when the glass is placed in the slots of the U- or V-shaped peak portions of the face sheet.

In the Van Antwerpen Patent No. 2,787,323, issued April 2, 1957, an improved means was shown for facilitating the making of slits in the face sheet to form the slots in the U- or V-shaped peak portions when the face sheet was folded to form such portions.

In the Van'Antwerpen Patent No. 2,812,798, issued November 12,1957, an improved means is shown for facilitating the creasing and/ or scoring of the face sheet and the intermediate sheet transversely to facilitate the folding and the correct forming of the U- or \(-shaped peak portions in the face sheet and the U- or V-shaped peaks in the intermediate sheet.

In the co-pending Van Antwerpen application Serial No. 565,382, filed February 14, 1956, now Patent No. 2,877,823, an improved means is shown and claimed for holding the sheets in correct assembled position with the peaks of the intermediate sheet properly aligned with the peak portions in the outer sheet and for holding the three sheets in place until the adhesive used for securing the sheets together sets.

The cushioning and shock absorbing strips are utilized for protecting the marginal edges of glass during shipping, as previously set forth, and the glass being protected takes different shapes, i.e., the curved shape for panoramic or wrap-around automobile glass, and hence the slits formed in the peak portions of the face sheet are out of alignment'longitudinally and take a sinuous path to conform to the curvature of the glass.

It is one of the primary objects of the present inven-.

tion to provide a simple and efiicient means for folding or knocking down the material lying between the slits in the peak portions of the outer sheet to form cushioning tongues uponwhich the peripheral edge of the glass rests, and also to provide an-except'ionally simple and efficient mechanism for folding or knocking down the the material between the slits to fold and knock down such portions to form the cushioning tongues.

A further important object of my invention is the provision of means whereby cylinders carrying different patterns of peaks or pins can be readily interchanged on the machine so that the desired knock down fingers will be actuated to agree with a predetermined formation of slits in the peak portions of the face sheet.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of means for holding selected known down fingers in an operative position when the pattern cylinder is not being utilized and when the slits are formed in a straight-path in longitudinal alignment.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel arrangement, construction and for-" through a portion of the machine showing my novel device connected therewith, the section being taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the machine showing the improved device incorporated therewith, parts of the view being shown broken away and in section to illustrate structural detail;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the'direction of the arrows, and .1

Figure 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of a cushioning and shock absorbing strip showing the sinuous ar-'. rangement of the slits formedin the face sheet of the strip. 7

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reff erence characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter D generally indicates the novel mechanism for folding and knocking down cushioning tongues 5 in a fabricated shock absorbing and cushioning strip 6 as made on the Van Antwerpen. patented machine No. 2,504,473. This strip 6 includes a base sheet 7, an intermediate sheet 8 and a face sheet 9. The intermediate sheet is folded to form transversely extending equidistantly spaced U- or V-shaped peaks 10 and the face sheet 9 is folded to form equidistantly spaced transversely extending U- or V-shaped peak portions 11 which receive the peaks it). The peak portions 11 are provided with pairs of slits 12 in which the peripheral edge of. the glass to be protected is received so that the glass edge can rest on the peaks 10 of the intermediate sheet 8.. The sheets are creased and folded on other parts of .the patented machine. In accordance with this invention, the

material lying between the pairs of slits 12 in the face sheet9 is folded and knocked down over the peaks 10 .of

the intermediatesheet 8, to form the cushioning tongues application.

The device D comprises-a" rotatable cylinder 17 which extends transversely across and above a desired portion of the table 13-. Thiscylinder' 17 includes a cylindrical shellor peripheral rim 18 deta'chably carriedby'end disc shaped plates 19; The'inner edges of the plates 19' ad jacent to their peripheries are rabbeted to provide cir cular shoulders 20011 which the opposite ends of the shell or rim 18 rest. The plates 19 are provided'with axially alignedlopenings 21 throughwhich'freely slides a drive shaft 22' that extends transversely of the table 13. One end of the shaft has keyed thereto, a sprocket wheel 23 for receiving a drivechain; The shaft 22 is driven in proper timed-relationtothe belt froman appropriate a'djacentpart of the machine (not shown); Thecylinder 17 isdetachably secured to the shaft 22 for rotation therewith by collars 24.- The-coll'ars 24 are held in grippingengagement with the end'plates 19 by set screws 25 which impinge against the shaft 22. The frame 14 on each 'side of'the 'table13j carries transversely aligned bearings 26; The shaft 22 'isrotatably supported by the bearings the fingers are held in a raised elevated non-operating position By means of contractile coil springs 42., The

springs 42 are attached at their opposite ends respectively to the fingers and to a part of the bracket 38.

In operation of the improved device, the cylinder is rotated in timed relation to the travel of the strip 6, as heretofore stated, and the cylinder selected is provided with a pin formation corresponding to the particular 7 sinuous pattern oft-he slits in the strip; As, best shown in Fig. 1, the cy'linder' rotatesina clockwise'direction, and as the'noses 41 are-in; the path of the pins 35 the desired fingers will be operated by the pins. As the pin engages a nose of-a finger, the finger is swung on itsrod and its leg 40 is moved. down to a position for engagement with the material between a pair of slits in the strip. By again referring to Figure 1,'it can be seen that the strip .is'moving to the right and hence, as the strip moves pastan operated finger,,the leg ofv such finger will egage 26.1and'theshaft-c'an be pulled, for apurpose which will later appear, out of the bearings, the cylinder 17 and the" collars 24 upon the loosening"of the-setscrews25. To

rotatably hold the shaft 22"in its'operative' position, theend of the shaftoppositeto-the sprocket wheel 23 is'provided with aremovable collar 27 and this collar is ground smoothand-isesecured to the shaft 22 by means of a set' screw. 28. At this point, it is to be noted that the collars 24 can carry set screws 29 for engaging the outer surface of the endplates 19 of the cylinder 17. Slidably'carried" by a bracketi30 secured to the frame 14 is an adjustable block 31. The :block is mountedin suitable guideways' formedon the bracket=30 and the blockis provided'with a seat32 for rotatably receivingtheground collar27 The bracket30 is provided with a longitudinal slot 33 and an adjusting bolt is" fittedin saidslot and carried by the a hand screw 34 threaded into the-bracket and the inner end of this screw is rotatably carried by the block and' is 7 held connected with the'block 'against' longitudinal movement. By rotating-the hand screw, the cylinder can be shifted to an exact desired adjusted position. The collar 27 fitting in the seat 32 normally prevents lateral shifting" of the shaft. The cylinder has secured to its periphery 'a plurality of radially extending pegs or pins 35 and these pinsarearrangedin an exact formation around the peripheryof. the cylinder according to thearrangement of theslitsin: the strip.6.

Cooperating with'the pins 35 on the cylinder are a pin rality of.closely arranged knock down fingers'36. The fingers are all .rockably mounted for independent move ment on a transversely extending supporting rod 37. This rod 37 extends across the machine in front of'the cylinder andv directly. abovethe table '13.- The rodissupported on V suitablebrackets 38' carried by the frame 14 of the machine. Alter theknockddwn'finger-sare of identical construction and each includes a'fiat body portion 39- having- 1 'a depending angularly extending leg .40. The fingers" 36 arepreferably formed from non-magnetic. material, so as notto be afiected by the table'13; Each fingeriis-rockably' mounted onv the rod 37 adjacent to its. upper'endt and each finger is provided with anose 41. The pins35 dur- ,7

ing the rotation of the cylinder? 17 are adapted to strike the nosesof certain of. the fingers36 for operating the fingers, as will be later brought out.. Norma1ly,.,all-ofblock. The block is'adjustedback and forth bymeansofi the material-and fold and knock. downthe material between. the slits to. form the desired cushioning tongue. It can be seen that as the pin'passesthe nosetthe spring 42 will tend'to immediately return the finger 36 to its'raised inoperative position.' However, as the strip is moving toward the right (Figure I), the finger will engage the' material between the slits and beheld in its lowered operative position by such material until the material has been knocked down and the peak passes the finger.- At that time the finger will return to its raised inoperative positionby its spring. 1 a

While the pins 35 could be arranged'in different patternsonithe'cylinder 17, his preferred to provide differentcylin'derswith a desired arrangement of pins for each :formationofslitsin a strip. Tocha'ngecylinders having difierent patterns of pins;itismerelynecessary'to loosen the set'screws' 25 of the'collars' 2'4 and the set screw 28 of the collar 27. The shaft22' can now be pulled to theiri'ghf (see Figure 3),, out" of the collars and the cylinders: Anew cylinder can now be placed in position and'the shaftreturned to its operative relationship relative 'to, the new cylinder. In actual practice, the discs 19 are spread apart, and the'rim 18 is removed from the same'and'then anotheririm with a ,difierent'patternof pins'is placed between theend" plates. 7

In certain instances; the'pairs of} slits in the. strip'are arranged in a straight'path in longitudinal alignment. and in suchinstance, the'use of the cylindertisnot necessary and the cylinder can be" removed. In this instance, the selected finger: orfingersf36, are lowerediagainstlthe tension of the' spring 42 and a' rod"43," -indicatedlin dotted lines in Figure 2,,is slipped through aligned openings 44 in the-brackets 38 in rear of, the loweredfinger or'fingers. This holds the selected finger or'finge'rsin a'lowered operative position;

Various changes in details may be made-without departingfrom"thespiritor the scope offthis invention, but what I claim as new'is:

1; In a device for folding and knocking down cushioning tongues for glass,,a"table for supportingthe strip, means for advancing. the' strip at a predetermined rate over the table, a plurality ofknock down fingers arranged in atransverse'row' across the tableand above'the table, means supporting "the fingers for free independent rock abovethesupporting'means; meansindepend'ently holding each fihger'in a raised 'position"with thelegabove the strip, and a rotatable cylinderdisposedih'frontof said fingers and above said table, s'a'id 'icylinderiextending across "said table and havinga pliira'lity'ofradially extending' pins arranged in a 'predetermihed formation relative toon'e another around the periphery -of the cylinder, the

, pins being disposed for? engagement" with the noses; of"

"selected; fingers .for rocking; saidi selected fingers on the supportingmeans-With the-legsiin' a; lowered position; and. in -the path. of said peaks, for engagementwith the mas:

terial between the slits in said peaks upon theadvancement of the strip.

2. In a device as defined in claim 1 and said cylinder being rotatable at a predetermined speed relative to the rate of travel of the strip over the table.-

3. In a device as defined in claim 1, and said cylinder v including a rim carrying the pins, side plates detachably supporting the rim, and a removable shaft supported same.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Giraudet Mar. 15, 1870 Wenzel Aug. 7, 1956 

